Today is my last day of work before vacation and I’m definitely having a little “vacation brain” kicking in early. I have a couple of things I need to finish and document for my co-workers who are covering for me next week and then I can relax.
One
A quick note about Memorial Day: Over a dozen people in my extended family – men and women – have served in the US Military, representing the Marines, the Air Force, the Navy, the Army, and the Coast Guard Reserves. We have been lucky to have every one of them return home safely. However, many who have served our country do not – and Memorial Day is to remember and honor those people and their sacrifice. I’d like to gently remind people to please not thank current or former servicemembers for their service (that’s what Veteran’s Day is for) or wish them a “Happy” Memorial Day this weekend. For those who have lost comrades in arms, friends, or family, it’s not a happy day and many of them will spend this day at a graveside or memorial rather than having a holiday weekend celebration. I don’t grudge anyone a day off or an excuse for a cookout or a party, but please do take a minute before tucking into burgers or opening the swimming pool or whatever it is you’re doing over the long weekend and consider the reason behind the holiday.
Two
This coming week Zach and I are both on vacation and planning to use the time to build our garden shed. We ordered a set of plans earlier this year, and tomorrow morning Home Depot will be delivering all of the supplies that I ordered. Last week we cleared the ground at the site – which included digging up a HUGE pile of rocks – and blocked out exactly where the building will go. I’m excited about actually building the shed from the ground up and will likely share progress pictures on Instagram. Depending on how things go, I might even write a blog post about it.
Three
Enchiladas are my favorite quick and easy, go-to comfort meal. I always have the ingredients for some type of enchilada on hand and they’re great for feeding a crowd or for making in freezer batches for future meals. This article from Texas Monthly was a fun read and talks about all varieties of enchiladas and why they’re awesome: Enchiladas Are So Much More Than You Think
Four
This made me laugh this week. Finn still wants desperately to play with Phoebe and Phoebe is having none of it.
Five
I made this extremely complex recipe for beef short ribs that called for a whole bottle of red wine and a whole bottle of ruby port. The ribs were amazing and rich and tender but honestly I’d rather drink the wine than use two whole bottles of it for the sauce. It was a fun experiment but I’ll likely not make them this way again.